Capital Facts

Rauner’s school funding vote will define him forever

Published by admin on Wed, 08/23/2017 - 9:00am

 

Gov. Bruce Rauner has said for the past several days that he's open to just about any sort of compromise in order to get school funding reform signed into law.

Rauner veto would slash funds to schools with TIFs

Published by admin on Mon, 08/14/2017 - 11:02am

    Chicago has vast property wealth and the largest population by far in Illinois. But it also has a large amount of that property wealth locked up in Tax Increment Financing districts.

Rauner’s staffers may be out to kill education reform bill

Published by admin on Wed, 08/09/2017 - 9:00am

 

The education funding reform bill which passed the House and Senate in May and was finally sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk in July was the product of four years of research, endless listening tours and lots of hard bargaining.

Battle over ed funding reform rages on

Published by admin on Mon, 07/31/2017 - 1:37pm

    During the lead-up to the recent special legislative session over the state budget and a tax hike, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s staff studied whether their boss had the power to force legislators to attend the sessions.

A whole new world in the governor’s office

Published by admin on Mon, 07/24/2017 - 12:24pm

    In the end, Mike "Z" Zolnierowicz had only one choice. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top political lieutenant, the man everyone calls “Z” who was most responsible for winning the 2014 Republican primary and the governor's former state chief of staff, simply had to resign late in the afternoon on Friday, July 14.

Rauner staff changes may bring more deadlock

Published by admin on Wed, 07/19/2017 - 9:00am

 

After Gov. Bruce Rauner hired Illinois Policy Institute president Kristina Rasmussen's as his new chief of staff, I reached out to one of the House Republicans who voted to override the governor's budget and tax hike vetoes. How was he feeling?

Breakaway Republicans crucial to veto overrides

Published by admin on Mon, 07/10/2017 - 3:46pm

    After years of ugly gridlock and weeks of groups and political leaders whipping up an already disgusted populace over a 1.2 percentage point income tax increase, lots of legislators were understandably on edge last week.
    Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, tweeted ahead of the votes to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s vetoes of a budget package that it was "hard not to think about the [recent Virginia] congressional shooting showing up to work today."

Illinois Senate will be at a loss without Radogno

Published by admin on Wed, 07/05/2017 - 9:00am

 

Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno was the first ever female leader of a state legislative caucus in Illinois. That alone puts her in the history books.

Rauner defeats the news media filter

Published by admin on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 10:27am

    Gov. Bruce Rauner regularly attempts to "go over the heads" of the news media and talk directly to the public without any journalistic filters.  Usually for people in his particular position, that's just not possible.  Governors aren't presidents, after all.  They can't deliver "Oval Office" addresses that are carried live by television networks or give stump speeches that cable news networks regularly broadcast.  They don't have millions of Twitter followers or Facebook video watchers.

Why fear, loathing pervades Springfield

Published by admin on Mon, 06/19/2017 - 12:14pm

 

One of the hottest rumors making the rounds among Statehouse types last week was that the governor and/or the Illinois Republican Party will be sending "trackers" to Springfield for the upcoming special legislative session.